University of Maine
Yale
Women's Basketball Nipped at Yale, 57-55
1/7/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- For the second-straight year, the University of Maine women's basketball team (8-6) and Yale (5-8) battled down to a final second shot. Yale's Tamara Simpson hit a layup with just 10.8 seconds left to give the Bulldogs a 57-55 victory on Wednesday evening at the John J. Lee Amphitheater.
Maine featured four scorers in double-figures led by Sigi Koizar's (Vienna, Austria) 14 points. Liz Wood (Catlett, Va.) was solid across the stat line as she added 11 points, seven rebounds four assists and three steals. Sophie Weckstrom (Espoo, Finland) chipped in 11 points while Anna Heise (Halle, Germany) added 10; her third-straight game in double-figures.
Maine, which led 48-39 with 9:50 to play, controlled the game down low on offense as it outscored Yale 32-18 in the paint, leading to a 45.7 percent showing from the floor.
With the game tied at eight, Maine's offense began to click as it used a 9-0 run to take a nine point lead. Koizar broke out on a fastbreak and found Mikaela Gustafsson (Sodertalje, Sweden) running the court for two to began the run. The Black Bears would go 5-for-6 from the free throw line during the run, extending their lead to 17-8 with 8:37 to play in the half.
Yale cut the lead back down to five before the Black Bears answered. Maine used an 8-2 run, started by a 3-pointer from Sophie Weckstrom (Espoo, Finland) and ended on a long-distance field goal from Wood, to build its largest lead of the half, 26-15, with under five minutes left.
The Bulldogs again cut the lead to five before a 6-0 Maine run extended the lead back out to 11.
Nyasha Sarju's 3-pointer with a minute left in the half sent the game into the break with the Black Bears leading 34-26.
Maine kept working on its lead as Anna Heise (Halle, Germany) and Koizar scored the first two buckets of the half, extending the Black Bears' lead out to 12 just 1:53 into the second half.
Yale kept chipping away, using a 5-0 sprint to cut the Maine lead down to 48-44 with 6:34 left in regulation. Weckstrom had the answer for the Black Bears as her bucket put an end to a 3:45 Maine scoring drought.
With Maine leading by six, Yale continued to close the gap. The Bulldogs staged a 6-1 run, coming all the way back to trail by just one point with 2:37 on the clock.
Yale looked to take the lead until Wood came up with a huge steal which led to a tough leaning, layup from Koizar, extending Maine's lead to three with 1:36 to play.
The Bulldogs would regain possession and hit a free throw before forcing a Maine turnover. A fastbreak layup off a steal from Yale's Tamara Simpson would tie the game, 55-55, with under a minute left.
Maine's next possession would come up short and Yale would come down with the rebounds. The Bulldogs called timeout with 19.8 remaining. Out of the timeout, Simpson would drive the lane for a make to give Yale a two-point edge.
The Black Bears drove up court and had a last second jumper for the tie but the shot came up short as Yale escaped with a 57-55 victory.
Maine returns to America East play when it travels to take on Hartford on Saturday, Jan. 10. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 PM.
